The California Teacher Residency Grant Program provided essential, one-time funding to jump-start new and to expand existing teacher residencies, which are pathways into the teaching profession that integrate a residents' coursework with a yearlong placement in the classroom of an expert teacher. In spring of 2021, WestEd collected data through…

Across the United States, educators and education leaders are increasingly recognizing the value of social and emotional learning (SEL), school climate, and related whole-person efforts as keys to enabling student success. Many school districts are still exploring or just beginning implementation of these whole-person efforts, and many have…

School Health Centers play a vital role in providing youth with easy access to health care, improving both health and education outcomes. In California, two major initiatives--the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) and California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM)--are reshaping how health services are delivered in…

To support state education agency (SEA) leaders in establishing a statewide vision for serving the whole person, WestEd drafted and piloted the guide, "Serving the Whole Person: An Alignment and Coherence Guide for State Education Agencies," in collaboration with several SEAs. This case story describes Delaware Department of Education…

Most special education administrators do not get the chance to network regularly with professional peers to discuss job challenges and strategies. School-district special education directors routinely juggle complex, difficult, time-consuming, and emotion-laden job demands, but when things get tough, they usually find themselves solving problems…